


Undone

by leen_go (cagedchaos)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-22
Updated: 2013-01-24
Packaged: 2018-10-25 09:44:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10761693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cagedchaos/pseuds/leen_go
Summary: Zhang Yixing was having a bad day, but the genie lamp given to him by the tall owner of a store at 2nd Street and Thyme Road gave him a new hope.





	1. The First Revision

Zhang Yixing was having a crap day: he got fired from his job as a financial analyst due to a mistake he didn’t make, he’d gotten jostled about rudely on the subway platform (so much that he missed the train, _twice_ ) and now it was raining cats and dogs as he walked home from the train station.

Cursing multiple times out loud, Yixing took off his brown MCM backpack and held it over his head as a makeshift umbrella, joining the dozens of others who had also gotten caught in the sudden downpour in searching for the nearest roof to put over his head. Rounding a street corner, Yixing finally found a door that was unlocked and let himself in without checking the overhead sign. As he shouldered the bag once more (a small stream of water hit the ground with a splatter and Yixing apologized to the seemingly empty store), his eyes wandered around the shop, which appeared to sell odd trinkets, and noticed a pile of shattered glass on the floor in the corner.

“Hello?” He called out curiously to no response. “Anyone here?” When still no one answered, Yixing shrugged and decided to browse around; this seemed like an interesting enough place and why not? It wasn’t like he had anything else to do. Wringing the end of his left sleeve, he started down the left of the small store, fingers grazing lightly over an expensive looking set of silverware. His hand stopped at a golden coloured genie lamp with indiscernible engravings and he picked it up to give it a closer look.

“Can I help you with anything?”

Yixing’s head snapped to the right so quickly that he had to bring a hand up to massage his neck. The voice belonged to a tall man wearing a half-zipped forest-green sweater and loose jeans who was standing behind a glass case that displayed a poorly organized selection of mismatched jewellery. Recalling that he hadn’t seen anyone in the place when he called out earlier, Yixing could only assume that the man before him had come from the door behind the glass display. “Er, no. I’m good. I just needed to duck out of the rain for a bit and your place was the closest,” Yixing answered nervously, not daring to meet the dark eyes of his addressor and choosing instead to set down the genie lamp that he had picked up back into its place on the shelf, though a little wistfully; what he wouldn’t give to have three wishes granted, especially on a terrible day like today. Besides, he no longer had a job, which meant he didn’t get a biweekly paycheque, which meant he didn’t have money to spend on random things like this lamp. When he chanced a glance back at the only other person in the room, he saw a thoughtful arched eyebrow on the symmetric face.

Clearing his throat uncomfortably, Yixing looked out the front window of the store and noticed that as abruptly as the rain had started to come down in sheets, it had stopped. With an awkward ‘Thanks’ that he wasn’t sure reached the ears of the handsome man that guarded the store, he pushed the door open, hoping that he’d get home in time before Mother Nature decided to throw another fit and pelt him with more rain.

“Wait!” The same deep voice called, making Yixing turn in surprise. The tall male was carrying the genie lamp that Yixing had been looking at as he ran to catch up with him. “Here,” he said, taking Yixing’s hand and placing the lamp in it.

“Uhm…” Yixing started, “I don’t have any money on me…” He explained with an apologetic look on his face as he started to hand the lamp back. He finally noticed the childish sticker name tag that had been stuck on the left side of the sweater that read “Hi, My Name is Kris” and was decorated with an array of poor drawings including a crooked smiley face. It made Yixing retract his initial assumption that the man was older than himself.

Kris pushed Yixing’s hands back at him, “Take it. I insist.”

Yixing raised an eyebrow, now wondering if this ‘Kris’ changed his nametag every day, or if he just wore the same sweater every time he had to man the shop. “Uh…” he half-muttered distractedly.

“Really, because it looks like you could do with something good in your life,” Kris said, with a smile and a wink, before turning his back and heading back inside, hands shoved into his sweater pockets.

Yixing stood still on the spot a couple seconds with a bemused expression and, shaking his head, took his bag off and stowed the lamp inside it before starting towards home again.

…

Yixing forgot about the lamp he’d tossed haphazardly in his bag until after he’d gotten home, taken a shower and microwaved last night’s leftovers. It was when he’d settled into the couch and found a TV channel with a funny sitcom that he’d tossed the remote to the side, hitting the bag he’d thrown onto the couch when he’d come home. The resonating clang from the bag surprised him and he put down his plate on the coffee table in front of the couch to reach for his bag.

Scratching his head sceptically, Yixing stared at the lamp. The idea of a genie in real life was inviting at the moment, even if Yixing had no desire to have a strange and wonderful adventure like Aladdin who, Yixing reminded himself, was a _cartoon character in a movie._ Reminded of the embarrassing dismissal from his job earlier today, he all but slammed the lamp onto the table, making the chopsticks start to roll off the plate and in his haste to collect them before they hit the ground, the side of his hand grazed the exterior of the lamp.

Yixing screamed shrilly when he realised he was no longer alone; his television was suddenly being blocked by a tall figure with dark hair wearing a smirk on his face who was now dramatically bringing a finger to his ear, “Ow,” he said flatly when Yixing finally stopped to catch his breath, now on his feet and brandishing a chopstick in each hand like weapons, “Let’s not do _that_ again.”

“Who are you and what are you doing in my living room?!” Yixing yelled, trying (and failing) to keep his voice steady.

The dark haired figure sighed, “Again, can we just keep it down?” He crossed his arms, stepped towards the coffee table and reached across it to pick up a sliced pepper with his fingers, chewing on it slowly as if it was the most normal thing to be doing at the moment. As if he _hadn’t_ ust materialised out of thin air in Yixing’s apartment. “That’s delicious, actually.”

Still keeping his chopsticks pointed at his intruder (now both in one hand), Yixing reached behind him blindly for his cell phone.

“That’s really not necessary, Zhang Yixing” the stranger drawled, holding up Yixing’s phone in his hand as he took the chopsticks from Yixing’s outstretched arm, using them to continue eating from Yixing’s dinner plate.

Yixing stared blankly with his mouth opening and closing a couple of times like a fish out of water before he managed to compose himself again, at which point his unwelcome visitor made a motion for Yixing to sit down. Deciding that if the cat-eyed man was dangerous, it would be best to not do anything rash, Yixing closed his mouth and did as instructed. “How do you know my name?”

The man rolled his eyes, and, apparently deciding that the question wasn’t worth answering, he started on a different topic. “I suppose an introduction is in order. You may call me Tao,” he said, bowing curtly with one arm across his abdomen, bent ninety degrees at the elbow, and the other behind him.

Yixing’s mind seemed to have started to function again as his eyes flickered from the lamp he’d slammed on the table a minute earlier and the male all dressed in black standing before him _still_ eating his dinner. “G-genie?” He managed to croak out.

“And ten points for the slow man sitting on the couch,” Tao announced sarcastically, mockery plain in his voice.

“So, what is this? I get three wishes?” Yixing asked jokingly as he pinched himself: no way was this strange apparition in his living room real.

“Not technically,” Tao explained as he finally put down Yixing’s chopsticks. “I’m not what you would consider a traditional genie.” He paused at if looking for an appropriate way to word his thoughts, “I’m a time manipulator.”

Yixing raised an eyebrow, “Excuse me?”

“What I offer is an opportunity to erase the last 24 hours and replace it with a new day. For example, you could redo today, and make it so you _don’t_ get fired for what your fellow employee did because you _didn’t_ forget to log off your computer with you step away to go grab a coffee. Then you could avoid the subway and _not_ fall down, and then you could find yourself in a nice comfortable restaurant perhaps, and _not_ be caught in the drenching rain.”

Yixing continued to stare blankly. “What?”

Tao rolled his eyes, “A Do-over Day. Actually, three to be exact. You can choose to undo any day from here on out, where nothing you’ve done the first time round will stick.”

Yixing stared at Tao a beat longer and then snorted and burst into laughter, sure now that the shock of getting fired from a job he actually liked was making him hallucinate. He laughed even harder when he looked up to see Tao frowning at him with a creased forehead. “Okay then, _genie Tao_. Right, so I’ll just erase the disaster of today and replace it with nicer memories. That’s nice. Well, if you’ll excuse me, I’m just going to go to bed and hope that when I wake up tomorrow, you and this weird hallucination I’m having right now will be gone. Good night.”

…

Yixing woke up at 7:15 in the morning to the alarm on his cell phone, and to sunlight streaming in through the cracks between his blinds. Groping blindly at his bedside table, he finally managed to procure the phone and he turned the blinding noise off with a groan: how could he have forgotten to turn off his alarm clock? It wasn’t as if he had to go into work today. Yixing tossed the phone into the armchair in the corner grumpily and rolled back up into his blankets.

It was another few hours before his phone went off again, this time with the familiar voice of JJ Lin against instrumentals. “What?” He growled into his phone, yawning widely after climbing off his bed.

“Where the hell are you?”

Yixing peeled his eyes open and pulled the phone away from his ear to check who was calling, “Chanyeol? What are you calling me for?”

“Uh, because you should’ve been at work an hour and a half ago and you’re needed at a meeting that’s supposed to start, well, five minutes ago, and I can only keep saying you’ve got bowel issues for so long before Bossman Kim starts getting suspicious.”

“What? What are you talking about?” Yixing asked, still trying to wipe the sleep from his heavy eyelids.

“Just get over here, will you? And _please_ don’t be hungover. This is an important account.” _Click._

Yixing stared at his phone which, having summarized the length of his call, had returned to his lock screen which displayed the date.

Monday.

His mind reeled; hadn’t Monday already passed? He’d gotten fired on Monday, he remembered it distinctly because Mondays sucked enough on their own without having to get fired. A glance at his multi-dialled watch restated what his phone had already informed him. Deciding to chalk his confusion up to a _wildly_ vivid dream, Yixing hurried to his closet to grab the nearest suit and threw it on, not bothering to properly brush his teeth (he gargled with some mouthwash instead as he ran about the apartment trying to find his keys and work access card) before slamming the front door closed behind him.

…

Yixing dropped into his swivel chair in his cubicle and tossed coloured file folders into the corner of his desk with a satisfied smile. The client had liked the presentation (despite his late arrival) and his boss, though giving him weird looks that reminded Yixing about the ridiculous excuse Chanyeol had used to explain Yixing’s initial absence, was pleased enough that he pretended that Yixing had been on time all along. Yixing flicked on the power to his monitor and settled into his seat to do his job.

…

It was still two hours to the end of the work day when Yixing decided to take a break, getting up from his chair and heading towards the elevators so he could nip downstairs and purchase his afternoon caffeine kick. An alarm went off in the back of his mind just as the elevator door opened and he turned back to his desk to make sure that he had logged off. Incidentally, he hadn’t. With a sudden feeling of déjà-vu, Yixing walked back to the elevator doors and waited for them once more.

He returned with a hot coffee in hand to an office that was filled with pulpable tension. No one seemed to be at their desks, and they were all whispering furiously. Yixing found Chanyeol standing with a file folder at his side and staring at the closed door of their manager’s office. “Hey, what’d I miss?”

Chanyeol nodded towards the frosted glass door, “It’s Baekhyun. Boss came out fifteen minutes ago and practically yelled across the floor at Baekhyun to see him in his office.” He shook his head disapprovingly, “Can’t be anything good.”

Yixing furrowed his brow; in his dream last night, it was him who had been on the receiving end of that bellowing voice.

The door swung open unexpectedly and every employee bustled away, trying to look like they hadn’t been trying their best to hear what was going on behind the closed door. Likewise, Yixing ducked back behind the confines of his cubicle walls and felt sorry for Baekhyun.

…

At the end of every work day, Yixing always took the train home. Today, however, he decided to avoid the underground and grabbed a taxi instead, an instinct that he found out soon after was a good one; the radio had just announced delays in the subway system, causing large crowds to form on the platforms.

“Lucky you’re with me, huh?” the driver joked.

Yixing laughed in agreement but his mind started to wander to his dream last night again. “Yeah, lucky.”

…

The first thing Yixing did when he opened the door to his apartment was head into his living room. His eyes widened when he noted the genie lamp sitting on his coffee table in front of his television. “No way,” he breathed, taking slow steps towards the golden lamp and picking it up with curious eyes. He shrunk his hand into his sleeve and rubbed the side of the lamp, looking around him expectantly. Wasn’t a certain male by the name of Tao supposed to appear before him? When he found himself still alone in his home, he tried again, to the same effect.

Narrowing his eyes in contemplation, he grabbed the keys he’d dropped on his kitchen counter and left, trying to remember where the strange shop had been located.

After getting lost more than a handful of times, Yixing finally found the corner where 2nd Street and Thyme Road intersected. Opening the door slowly to confirm that he was indeed in the right place, he stomped up to the familiar glass display and glared at the male who had greeted him yesterday

“Can I help you with anything?”

Yixing glared at Kris’ forest-green sweater and at the silly nametag before slamming the lamp in front of him. “What the hell is this?” He asked angrily.

Kris raised an eyebrow, “I’m sorry?”

“This,” Yixing repeated, dangling the lamp from its handle on one finger. “You gave me this and now I’m like in some weird reality where I just repeated a day in my life.”

“What?” Kris replied, confusion plain on his face. “Sir, this is a pawn shop, are you quite sure you have the right place?”

“A what? Oh.” It suddenly made sense to Yixing why there was such a variety of items in the store. “Well, whatever. I got this from this shop, and it’s… funny. Last night, I accidentally rubbed the side of it, and this guy showed up in my apartment telling me that he’s some magical genie who calls himself Tao and he said that he could turn back time. What the hell is that about?”

Kris’ thick eyebrows were raised into his forehead and he didn’t say anything for about half a minute.

“Well?!” Yixing pressed more forcefully. “I believe you have some explaining to do?”

Kris’ face finally broke into a smile, and he laughed politely, “First, I have never seen that thing in my life. Second, even if what you were saying is the truth, I don’t know the story behind the items my clients pledge to me and third,” Kris’ eyes narrowed and Yixing had the distinct sensation of being viewed under a judging microscope, “Are you quite sure you weren’t, uh, _high_ … when this, Tao, was it, apparition occurred?”

“What? No!” Yixing retorted quickly. He took a deep breath to calm himself as Kris’ face contorted into what looked like an effort to appear indifferent about the current situation. With a scowl, he realised that he probably looked and sounded like a crazy person at the moment. Sighing heavily, he picked up the golden lamp again. “Nevermind,” he muttered before turning towards the door again, “Big help you were,” he added bitterly under his breath.

When he got home again, he should have been surprised to find his couch occupied, but he was too tired to bother. It had been raining outside and he should’ve known: it was the same heavy rain that had driven him into Kris’ shop the first time around.

Tao had clearly gotten into Yixing’s fridge, because he was eating a steaming plate of leftovers, the same leftovers that he’d eaten the previous today. “It’s still as good as I remember,” Tao smirked, smacking his lips together.

Setting the lamp down on the kitchen table, Yixing ran his hands through his hair agitatedly. “So… it’s true then.”

Tao didn’t look up from his plate, “What is?”

“The whole thing you said last night, or the other tonight, or, whatever I’m supposed to call it.”

“Of course. Did you think I lied to you?”

“How come that Kris guy didn’t remember giving me the lamp? Actually, if I redid today, how come the lamp wasn’t back at the shop? Why was it still in my apartment?”

At this, Tao put the plate down on the table, wiping his mouth with a napkin before getting up to face Yixing, “The lamp itself lies outside the realm of time manipulation, just like myself. Time flows around it and adjusts to where it is in the now. It is only normal humans who are affected by the time reversal. You, being the owner of the lamp now, no longer fall under that category, which means you get to remember everything from both 24 hour blocks. You will return to that category, however, once you’ve used up your three do-overs. You’ll still remember the three original days, but you will have no idea when the next owner of the lamp does the same after you’ve completed you next two restarts.”

“Wait, two?”

“Yes,” Tao said, almost exasperatedly, as though trying to explain complex calculus to an infant, “You’ve already used your first in keeping your job, or has your tiny brain not registered that?”

Yixing glared at the tall male, “I do not have a tiny brain. I just think it’s unfair that I lost a day because I was tricked.”

“And how exactly were you tricked?” Tao asked, amused.

“I… You… Okay, fine I wasn’t tricked, but I really was in no right mind to be making the decision to redo today.”

“That’s hardly my fault.”

Yixing glared at Tao once more and decided that it wasn’t worth it to continue the argument. “Okay, fine. So which one sticks? The first time or the second time?”

“I have already explained that.”

“Well, since I have such a tiny brain, why don’t you repeat it for me?” Yixing smiled disgustingly sweetly, batting his eyelashes for effect.

Tao sighed, “The do-over is the one that the world will remember. Matters that don’t involve you directly will not change by any measurable amount so most things around the world will just repeat themselves, more or less. Think of it like a remix of a song, the original is still there, with just a few details changed.”

Yixing nodded slowly, his mind coming up with all the days in his past that he’d love to undo.

“And no, before you ask, you can’t just pick a random day from last week, or last month, or last year or anything in the distant past to redo. My powers only extend to the immediate 24 hours prior to the time the, uh, wish, I suppose you’d call it, is made.” Tao made one last dive into Yixing’s food. “Now, unless you plan on redo-ing your last undo, which, if you ask me, is a terrible waste, I will be leaving.”

And before Yixing could blink properly, Tao was gone.


	2. The Second Revision

When Yixing woke up the next day, the first thing he did was check the date on his phone, and upon confirming that it was indeed Tuesday, he let out a relieved sigh, though what he’d been expecting otherwise, he wasn’t sure. He was tired as hell, having spent almost the entire night tossing in bed going over the details that Tao had dumped onto him the previous evening. After a moment’s contemplation, he decided that he would hardly be productive at work today, and thus called in to leave a message on his manager’s voice mail, pretending to have come down with a cold.

But instead of crawling back into bed to catch some more much-needed shut-eye, he put on a shirt, (laughing at himself as he pulled the sleeve over the various red marks on his arm, where he had pinched himself several times during the night just to see if he wasn’t dreaming). The lamp still rested in his kitchen, untouched from last night and he didn’t bother moving it this morning either. He grabbed his wallet and headed downstairs to the nearest coffee shop, purchasing two coffees with no cream and no sugar.

Having found the strange shop yesterday, Yixing had much less difficulty finding it again, especially now that it was no longer dark outside. A small bell that Yixing never noticed before tinkled when he opened the door, and Kris, who was hunched over the glass display reading the newspaper looked up abruptly.

“Don’t worry, no strange genie talk today,” Yixing laughed. “I came to apologize for my behaviour last night.” He offered one of the steaming paper cups in his hands towards the seated man.

“Uhm, it’s no problem,” Kris said, more in the form of a question than a statement.

“I don’t usually apologize to random strangers about my behaviour, but I h _ad_ yelled at you when I really shouldn’t have. I was in a… strange situation…,” Yixing explained vaguely, “And also, I was hoping you could help me.”

Kris raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow, “Help you?”

“I was kind of hoping you could help me get in touch with the previous owner of that lamp.”

Kris frowned as he took a sip from his cup. “No can do. I already told you, I’ve never seen that lamp before. And even if it had come from this shop, I can’t just reveal private client information.”

Yixing sighed. He’d assumed as much. “Alright then, never mind.” Yixing lowered his gaze to the twinkling items in the glass case he was leaning on. “So what’ve you got here?”

Kris shrugged (Yixing noticed that he was wearing a different shirt and a different name tag, though it was still covered in tacky drawings, one of which looked like an attempt at a turtle), “A little of this, a little of that,” he answered, unhelpfully.

“Mmm.” Yixing’s eyes scanned over various chains and stopped at a silver pendant of a pair of wings. “How much for that one?”

A grin spread across Kris’ face, “You sure you want that one? It hasn’t got any magic in it, can’t help you to fly.” He laughed a little, as though at an inside joke Yixing was not privy to. Nevertheless, Kris opened the glass case from his side, reached in and pulled out the necklace carefully.

Yixing took it in his hand and looked at it carefully. It was highly improbably that he would ever wear it, but he still liked it. Besides, Kris was an intriguing person and Yixing wanted a reason to stay around longer. “I’ll take it.”

…

When Yixing returned home, he was hardly surprised to find Tao sitting on one of the kitchen chairs, this time with a mounting pile of peanut shells on the table in front of him. “You’re cleaning that up when you’re done,” Yixing said, pointing to the pile as he walked past the genie and hung his newest purchase around a magnet on the side of his fridge.

Tao tossed a peanut upwards before catching it in his mouth, “Still trying to get answers from that Kris guy?” he asked, “I already told you he can’t tell you anything.”

Yixing wandered back to the seat opposite Tao’s and started shelling peanuts for himself, “Yeah, I know. Doesn’t mean I can’t find him interesting.”

Tao raised an eyebrow, “What?”

Yixing shrugged, “He’s cute,” was the only explanation he gave as he recalled the childish drawings on a one-time-use nametag.

“Cute,” Tao repeated flatly, now with both eyebrows raised.

Yixing rolled his eyes. “Nevermind, Tao. It doesn’t concern you anyway.” He clapped his hands lightly together to remove any crumbs and then stood up again, “When you’re done eating my food again, you don’t have to stick around. I won’t be making any changes to today.”

…

It was another week before Yixing visited the shop on 2nd and Thyme. He’d decided that it would get awkward if he kept showing up just to buy things he didn’t even really want, so he’d searched his home for something worth selling to Kris, finally coming upon a nice watch that he hadn’t worn in over a year, given to him as a gift, from someone whose memory still made his heart ache in the slightest.

“What kind of loan can I get from this?” Yixing asked, stepping into Kris’ shop and sliding the gold watch at him.

Kris glanced not at the item Yixing had just put under his nose, but at the designer suit that Yixing was wearing. “What the hell do you need a loan for?” he asked with a sceptical look on his face, “Looks like you’re doing pretty well for yourself already.”

“How much?” Yixing repeated, ignoring Kris’ comments.

Kris pushed the watch back at Yixing, not bothering to check it out, “No deal.”

“What if I just sold it to you, then?”

Kris narrowed his eyes suspiciously, “Why do you want to be rid of this so badly?”

Yixing faltered, “I- I don’t.” Kris smiled again, the same smile that Yixing decided could melt a hundred hearts. “Fine,” Yixing said, putting the watch back into his pocket, now at a loss as to what to say.

“Sorry,” Kris replied, still smiling, “Better luck next time.”

…

The next few times Yixing showed up at Kris’ shop, he didn’t bother trying to find something to sell, though he did pretend to be interested in a variety of items. Kris only laughed and didn’t bother quoting any prices. “If I sold you half the things you’ve asked about, I would have nothing left here.”

“Isn’t the point of your business to earn money from selling off other people’s things?” Yixing asked, pointing at a jade paperweight.

“I don’t want your money,” Kris replied, shaking his head and not bothering to even glance at what Yixing was pointing to.

“What’s that supposed to mean? You let me buy that pendant a month ago.”

Kris started to wipe down the windows with a cloth, turning his back on Yixing. “Yes, and you’ve been showing up every week since then, trying to buy out my shop.”

“Well, I like the stuff here.”

Kris turned around to face Yixing, “My five year old cousin can lie better than that.”

“Alright, can I convince you otherwise over dinner? Say tomorrow night at the Thai place around the corner?”

“What?”

“Dinner. You do eat, right? Think of it as a business dinner, where I try to convince you to accept my offers for the things you’re selling.”

Kris raised an amused eyebrow and crossed his arms on his chest, “You haven’t even told me your name.”

“Zhang Yixing. There. Now we’re acquainted. Come on, what do you say?”

Kris swallowed visibly, “Look, I just want to make something clear. I’m not looking for anything more than a friendship here."

Yixing grinned, “Of course, but _friends_ can grab a bite together, can’t they?”  Friends was still better than businessman-and-customer.

…

Yixing tried not to check his watch after Kris was more than half an hour late, but it was getting increasingly difficult not to glance down at his wrist every half a minute. Already anxious, he nearly jumped up from his seat when the hostess came around to show Kris where Yixing was waiting.

“Sorry I’m late. I, uh, got held up.” Kris ran a shaky hand through his already dishevelled hair as he slid into the booth across from Yixing, who was trying hard not to think about how much he wanted to run _his_ hand through Kris’ hair.

“Oh? Is everything okay?”

Kris shrugged and asked a waiter for a glass of water, “Yeah, just got into a disagreement with a friend is all.”

Yixing raised an eyebrow interestedly, “What about? Or can’t you say?”

Kris laughed though it sounded a bit hollow to Yixing, “About whether I should be meeting you here.”

“Oh…” Yixing scratched the side of his head, trying to cover up the startle from Kris’ words, “Uhm, why?”

Kris grinned, “He thinks it’s a bad idea to get so, er, _invested_ in a customer.”

The waiter returned with Kris’ glass of water and Yixing could tell by the way Kris was now focusing intently on the menu that the conversation was over. He desperately wanted to ask more questions, like why Kris didn’t seem to agree with his friend that it was a bad idea to see Yixing outside the workplace.

…

The good feeling Yixing had when his dinner with Kris ended was dashed by Tao’s dark expression when Yixing opened the door to his apartment. It was no surprise that he was sitting on the couch, shelling peanuts again.

“How was dinner with the owner of that pawn shop?”

Yixing narrowed his eyes, “How’d you know about that?”

Tao shrugged, “Been watching from the sidelines.” He popped another nut into his mouth, “Well?”

“I really don’t see how that should matter to you,” Yixing replied incredulously. He saw no reason why he had to tell the genie about his personal life.

“Are you seeing him again?” Tao asked, and then, though Yixing hadn’t thought it was possible, his expression darkened even further, “Do you perchance… _like him_?”

Yixing glared defensively at Tao; even though what the latter said was true, Yixing didn’t like the idea of being interrogated liked a criminal, “That’s really not any of your business.”

Yixing saw the muscles in Tao’s jaw clench as he glared right back at Yixing before disappearing again without another word.

…

Tao’s odd behaviour aside, there really was no reason to stop visiting Kris at his shop, which Yixing continued to do, sometimes bringing dinner with him after work, mainly because Kris had started to act weird about going outside of the shop with Yixing. He had the impression that Kris did in fact agree with the friend he’d argued with that one time they’d gone out for dinner, but had been too nice to bail that evening. Kris had been clear about staying just friends and, for the moment, Yixing had no problems with that, but he knew soon, he’d want more, and when Kris didn’t give it, Yixing’d end up only hurting himself. Still, the fact that Kris smiled every time Yixing stepped through the store entrance had Yixing coming back for more.

…

“Do you like roller coasters?” Yixing asked offhandedly one evening as he pulled out a roll of name tags from his bag followed by a black permanent marker and started to write Kris’ name on them for him. Kris’ handwriting could only be described, at best, as a poor attempt at communication and Yixing could no longer stand by idly and let it continue.

Kris gave him a funny look but didn’t ask about Yixing’s project. “What?”

“I mean, we’ve talked about it a couple times and you know, I thought it might be fun for us to do…” Yixing trailed off, the marker in his hand moving more quickly now. _K-R-I-S. Scroll. K-R-I-S. Scroll. K-R-I-…_

Kris picked up the end of the roll and peeled off the first sticker, patting it onto his t-shirt. “Are you… asking me… on a date?”

The marker slipped and Yixing ripped off the ruined nametag that now read “Hi, My Name is Kri” where the dot on the ‘i' continued off the side of the sticker. “Yes. No. Maybe.” Yixing paused and looked up at Kris, “That depends.”

Kris’ eyes widened in amusement, “On what, exactly?” he laughed, crossing his arms carefully so that they didn’t crush his nametag.

Yixing chewed his bottom lip nervously, “On what your answer is?”

Kris seemed to contemplate the question for a moment. “No.” Yixing’s heart fell into his stomach. “I won’t agree to go as a date, but I see no reason why we can’t go as friends.” Kris seemed to shift uncomfortably, “I told you last time that I wasn’t looking for a relationship…” he finished quietly.

Yixing tried not to let on how much the last words had stung and put on a brave smile, “Yeah, that’s totally what I meant in the first place. Hanging out as friends.”

Kris smiled again, obviously glad to have clarified their relationship, “Good. How does Saturday sound?”

“Yeah, okay,” Yixing replied. He was significantly less enthusiastic than Kris was at going _as friends_ , but at least they were heading outside of the store. Yixing retrieved the beginning of the roll and pulled out a second, thinner marker from his bag, adding random drawings around Kris’ name.

…

“You asked Kris to go to the amusement park this weekend?” Tao asked as soon as Yixing stepped past the threshold to his home.

Yixing sighed, “Yes. And I’m assuming you have a problem with that?” Yixing had noticed Tao’s increasing annoyance at Yixing’s continual visits to Kris’ store, and on more than one occasion, Tao had caused a mess in Yixing’s apartment in an attempt to prevent him from leaving.

“I don’t like it.”

“You don’t have to like it,” Yixing returned as he started to reorganize the contents of his fridge to accommodate his new groceries.

“You’ll regret it.”

“And what makes you say that?”

Tao gave Yixing one last glower before shaking his head and disappearing again.

…

Yixing and Kris decided to take the subway and despite the fact that it was early morning on a weekend, the trains were still crowded and more than once, Yixing had to grab Kris’ arm for support as the train lurched forwards, halting abruptly at each stop on the route.

The line to get into the park was irritatingly long, and those to get on the rides seemed even longer, if that was possible. By the end of the day, Yixing had counted perhaps ten roller coasters that the two of them had actually managed to get onto.  The last one had been at the water park and Yixing and Kris got off with wet hair and soaked t-shirts. Yixing laughed when he realised that Kris was actually shivering from the ride. He un-shouldered his backpack on one side and pulled out a sweater, tossing it at a thankful Kris.

Yixing was grateful that it wasn’t a blisteringly hot day, despite the cloudless sky, because otherwise, he wouldn’t have had an excuse to walk so close to Kris. “Let’s go grab some dinner,” Yixing suggested, taking Kris’ hand and leading them towards one of the restaurants.

…

Despite the fact that the sun had set after they left the restaurant after dinner, there was still the mini-mall that provided entertainment. Yixing grabbed a pamphlet from an information desk and opened it, showing Kris the various different booths they could visit. Kris laughed at Yixing’s energy, but let Yixing drag him to a multitude of stalls, helping him win a couple of stuffed animals on the way. Yixing only decided they’d had enough of the indoors when he checked the schedule on the back of the pamphlet and noted that a fireworks show was to start in fifteen minutes, which left them enough time to grab a couple of ice creams on the way to the venue.

It was as Kris stared up towards the sky at the colourful display that Yixing realised how beautiful Kris really was: his big dark eyes accented with those thick eyebrows, the piercings on his ear, the perfectly shaped nose, the rounded chin and the soft lips… “Hey, Kris.”

Kris made a sound to confirm he was listening and waited until the most recent of the flowering display of lights faded against the dark sky to turn and face Yixing. “Yeah?”

Yixing didn’t spare a single thought for the toy rabbit he’d just dropped onto the dirty ground beside him as he reached for Kris’ jacket and stood up on his tip-toes so he could reduce the difference in their heights. He closed his eyes and placed his lips softly on Kris’, trying to quell the screaming voice in his head that was telling him that Kris wanted to just be friends.

But people who wanted to just be friends didn’t kiss you back, and definitely not as passionately as Kris was doing now. Friends didn’t trace your lips with their tongue seeking permission to enter, and friends certainly didn’t moan softly when you gave it willingly.

Yixing’s grip on Kris’ jacket didn’t loosen, and if anything, it tightened, trembling as the owner felt himself melt into every curve of Kris’ mouth, and when Kris suddenly pulled away, Yixing could still taste on his tongue the mint-chocolate ice cream that Kris had ordered before the fireworks show. Yixing breath had quickened, but it was nothing against the rate with which his heart was beating against his rib cage. _What now?_

Before Yixing could say anything, or even catch his breath, he watched a look of panic and disgust make itself home all over Kris’ features. Suddenly, the thrashing in his chest got worse, and Yixing didn’t know how to make it stop giving him the desire to throw up.

“We can’t… This shouldn’t… I-” Kris whispered, his voice buried under the sudden applause surrounding them; the show was over. “It’s getting late,” Kris finally managed when the clapping subsided and people startle to turn to leave. “We should probably go.”

“Y-yeah,” Yixing agreed half-heartedly, but Kris had already begun walking away without him, his back disappearing quickly amidst the bustling crowd.

The train on the way home was significantly less busy and with no reason for close proximity, Yixing and Kris sat in awkward silence on opposite sides of the car. Yixing was now feeling ridiculous and embarrassed; it didn’t help that Kris was refusing to meet his eye. His chest was still hurting, but now for a completely different reason. He no longer felt like his heart was about to leap out of his chest in jubilant glee. No, now it was more of a painful throb of anxiety that couldn’t have hurt less than if he had been stabbed in the gut with a blunt knife. That look of disgust upon Kris’ face was all he needed to know exactly how Kris felt about him.

When the train screeched to a standstill at Kris’ stop, Kris stood up stiffly and put up his hand expressionlessly as if to wave goodbye before stepping off the train. Yixing wanted desperately to call him back, to explain himself but the words got caught in his throat as he watched the metal doors close with a soft clang. What was there to explain anyway? It was pretty obvious why he’d done what he had done and it was just as obvious that Kris didn’t want it. A tiny nagging voice reminded him that Kris had kissed back, had been the one who wanted more, but a louder voice simply squashed it by telling him that Kris had had a beer with dinner.

So when he got home, Yixing was thankful that Tao was sitting on the couch once more, this time with an unreadable expression as he shelled peanuts into a pile in front of him again.

“You were right. I regret it.”

Tao’s only response was a knowing smirk.

“Take me back. I want this to be my second do over.”

…

Yixing woke up in the morning with the immediate compulsion to check his calendar to confirm that he was redoing the day. Reassured, Yixing took a calming deep breath and started to get ready to meet Kris at 8am at the coffee shop halfway between their respective homes as they had agreed upon three days ago.

8:06. Kris was probably just running a bit late.

8:43. Okay, maybe a lot late.

9:17. Yixing paced in front of the shop. Had Kris been late last time too? He racked his brain for a memory of when he had actually met up with Kris, but the image of Kris’ face after the fireworks kept interfering with his thoughts.

9:26. Yixing purchased another coffee inside.

9:45. Still no messages or calls from Kris on his phone.

10:03. There was no way Kris would be this late without a good reason. Yixing threw his empty paper cup into the nearest garbage can and grabbed his backpack, pushing open the coffee shop door with more force than necessary. There was a sinking feeling in his stomach now that something horrible had happened to Kris.

Yixing allowed himself to breathe again when he saw Kris sitting behind the glass casing as usual, working on the crossword book that Yixing had purchased for him a week ago. “Did you forget?” Yixing nearly tripped over his feet in his haste to open the door and talk to Kris.

Kris looked up in alarm, pen still half dangling from his mouth. “What? Forget what?”

“Uhm, we were supposed to go to the amusement park today,” Yixing replied, checking his phone again to make sure that Tao had turned back time.

“What? We-” Kris cut himself off when he retrieved his pen and pulled out his phone to check the date, realisation dawning on his features, “Oh. Right. Today’s Saturday, huh? That’s uhm, yeah... Sorry, forgot.” He pointed down at the book he’d been working on, “Got a little carried away trying to come up with 17-down.” Kris got up and disappeared into the back before returning a moment later, shrugging on his jacket and wearing a smile that seemed a little forced to Yixing. “Alright, let’s go.” Fixing the collar, he grabbed his keys from his pocket, swept past Yixing and held the door open. “Come on, we’ve already missed a couple hours.”

Yixing didn’t miss the fact that Kris’ eyes seemed bloodshot, as if he hadn’t slept a wink the night before. He didn’t have a chance to confirm what he saw because Kris was refusing to meet his eye as he locked up his shop.

…

As he had done last time, Yixing suggested that they take the train, and it was as busy as he remembered it, even two hours later. Kris didn’t seem to mind the crowds, but, noticing the trouble Yixing was having keeping himself balanced, he pulled Yixing towards a different part of the train car where he found a place for Yixing to lean against. Meanwhile, Kris grabbed an overhead bar for balance and stood in front of Yixing protectively as he turned his head to stare out the window. He didn’t comment when Yixing played with the zipper on his jacket.

When they arrived at the park, Yixing made every effort to visit the exact same rides, to do everything in the exact same way as he had done before his mistake. The two of them had had fun and Yixing was determined to have _that_ sentiment stick, in place of the disgusted one.

Perhaps it was the fact that Yixing’s mind was otherwise occupied, but today was markedly different than what he remembered. Sure, Kris was still laughing at Yixing’s bad jokes and letting him drag him from ride to ride, but it was as if he wasn’t fully engaged. And it was possible that it was his paranoia speaking, but he was sure that Kris had purposely pulled his hand out of Yixing’s after Yixing had grabbed it to run towards a clown selling balloon animals and had forgotten to let go while they waited in a line full of screaming kids, something Kris hadn’t bothered to do the first time.

At the end of the day (Kris had cited that he had a business meeting early the next morning so they left just as the sky had started to darken so he could prepare his presentation), they were back on the train in exactly the same manner as the previous time, even though they had avoided the awkward confrontation under the fireworks. Kris said goodbye to Yixing in the same way he said goodbye every time Yixing left his shop, and even though it should have meant that things were exactly as Yixing had wanted them when he asked Tao to undo the last 24 hours, his heart felt unusually empty.


	3. The Third Revision

When Yixing showed up to Kris’ shop again, Kris was exactly as he had been before the excursion to the amusement park, which confirmed to Yixing that everything had just been in his head. He wasn’t sure why he was still torturing himself by going to see Kris when he already knew what Kris’ reaction would be if Yixing let his true colours show again. He couldn’t stop though, because being around Kris as his friend was so much better than the idea of not being around Kris at all.

…

“Have you ever been in love?” Kris asked, out of the blue one evening, in between bites of his vegetarian spring roll.

Yixing nearly choked on his rice as an image of a dark skinned dancer flashed into his mind momentarily. “Why?”

Kris shrugged and he continued to chew, “I think I might be.”

Yixing didn’t know what to say to the topic and his stomach seemed to have formed a knot when he realised that Kris was about to talk to his _friend_ about his love life. A small part of him still held onto the hope that Kris was talking about Yixing.

“But I don’t think it’ll amount to anything.”

“Why not?” Yixing asked when he finally succeeded in dislodging the lump in his throat that had formed at the idea of Kris with someone that wasn’t him.

“Well, for starters, he has no idea who I am,” Kris laughed, picking up his chopsticks.

Yixing’s shoulders drooped as the small flame of hope that had kept him going for the last while extinguished. Feeling a slight burning at the edge of his eyes, Yixing excused himself from the store, refusing to break down in front of Kris. With a feeble “I forgot to do something at work,” Yixing slipped out before Kris could ask “What?” and made it until he turned a corner before the dam broke.

He didn’t go home immediately, knowing he would have no patience for any of Tao’s useless comments which would have been inevitable should he have returned straight home with red eyes and wet streaks down his face.

He was surprised then, when he got home about an hour later and wasn’t greeted by the image of Tao sitting on his couch shelling peanuts. Taking Tao’s place on the couch, he flicked on the television, where a reporter was standing at the corner of two familiar streets.

_“Police still have no suspects in the devastating robbery-gone-wrong of this evening and ask any witnesses to come forward with information.”_

The reporter signed off with a close up of the location, and the remote in Yixing’s hand fell from his hand with a clatter, because it was Kris’ shop that was on the screen with the words ‘Breaking News’ splattered across the bottom.

…

A crowd had already formed when Yixing arrived in front of the pawn shop, short of breath from running all the way from his apartment. There was still bright yellow ‘CAUTION’ tape roping the scene from public access and Yixing could barely explain to an officer that he was a friend before he saw a body getting transported onto the ambulance. It made Yixing sick to his stomach when he saw one of the paramedics pull a sheet over an all too familiar face covered in crimson streaks. He escaped the crowd and as soon as he was alone, the unfinished dinner he’d had at Kris’ came up in reverse.

…

"Tao!” Yixing practically yelled when he returned back to apartment, pale-faced and barely keeping his body upright. “Tao! Where the hell are you?” He hadn’t needed to shout because Tao was standing against the nearest wall with a deadened look on his face, head hung low. “My last re-do. Today. _Hurry!_ ”

“I knew that’s what you’d say,” Tao spat out, an angry bite to his words and hostility in his lowered eyes.

…

“Have you ever been in love?” Kris asked, in between bites of his vegetarian spring roll.

Yixing nearly fell out of his chair. He hadn’t expected Tao to drop him into this conversation, when both of the previous times, he’d been more subtle, letting him wake up to the undone day instead of in the middle a conversation. Of course, this was the only part of today that mattered…

“Yixing? You okay?”

Yixing shook his head briefly, “No, yeah, sorry. Just spacing out a bit,” he covered, checking his watch for the time. Kris gave him a concerned look which Yixing waved away, “I’m _fine_.” Yixing put down the chopsticks he’d forgotten he’d been holding, “Can we get out of here?”

“What?” Kris asked, the concern elevating in his voice.

“Just, I dunno. This is a great place and all, but it’s so much better _outside_ , you know?”

“What?” Kris repeated, like a broken record.

Desperate to get out of the store so Kris wouldn’t end up on the six-o’clock news again, Yixing rose from his seat and pulled Kris out from behind the glass display he always sat behind. “Let’s go to the park or something. Just anywhere but here.”

“Yixing, you’re starting to scare me.” Kris had started to resist Yixing’s efforts as soon as he had regained the control of his tongue and was now standing at the doorway with his feet firmly on the ground. “Are you sure you’re okay? Just tell me what’s wrong.”

Yixing shook his head furiously, determined to hold back his tears. He wasn’t going to lose Kris again. “Let’s just _go_.” He gave Kris another push, and, having expected more resistance than Kris actually put up, ended up tripping as Kris stumbled backwards out of the store. A screech of car tires on asphalt followed by a sickening thud had Yixing up in less than a second, rushing to Kris’ side.

The driver had gotten out of his car, apologizing profusely, though Yixing scarcely heard any of it, “He just rushed out… I couldn’t… It wasn’t… Is he okay?”

Kris groaned as he pulled himself back into a seated position, a hand on his back, and Yixing nearly fainted from the almost-heart attack. The driver had crouched down next to them, offering to take Kris to the hospital. “It’s the least I can do.”

Kris shook his head, “No, I’m fine really. Don’t worry, it wasn’t your fault. I was just clumsy. I’ll have a nasty bruise later, though.” Kris laughed, only to bend over in pain from the exertion.

The driver didn’t looked convinced and Yixing surely wasn’t, “No, you’re going to the hospital. You could have internal bleeding or something.”

Kris stood up carefully and turned to address the driver, cleaning off the back of his pants with the hand that Yixing wasn’t holding on to for dear life. “I’m fine, thank you. It was really kind of you to offer though,” Kris said. A mixture of guilt, responsibility and relief washed over the driver's face and Kris nodded again in reassurance. The driver glanced over shoulder another time before stepping back into his car and speeding off once more.

“We should really get you to a hospital, Kris.”

Kris laughed again, clutching his side, “The only reason I’ll have to go to the hospital is because I will have lost the function of my left arm because you’ve cut off the circulation to it.”

“At least let me take you home,” Yixing replied, still anxious and heart rate still elevated from the scare, though he allowed his hold around Kris’ arm to loosen (just a little).

Kris straightened up to his full height, and even though he was damn good actor, Yixing could still tell that it hurt him to do so. “Go home, Yixing,” he said in an exhausted voice, “I’ll be fine.”

Yixing didn’t let Kris pry his arm back to himself, “No, I’m not leaving your side.”

Kris tried to shake Yixing’s arm off with more force, “ _Go home_ , Yixing.”

“No.”

“Fuck, Yixing. Can’t you tell I don’t want you around? Get a fuckin’ hint, idiot.”

Yixing had never seen Kris angry, or even remotely upset, and Kris’ raised voice (combined with the content that it spoke) surprised him enough to finally let go. Kris shrugged his shirt on straight before turning back towards the entrance of his store. Yixing stared at his retreating figure until a honking car reminded him that he was still in the middle of the street.

 _“Fuck, Yixing. Can’t you tell I don’t want you around? Get a fuckin’ hint, idiot.”_ Kris’ words echoed in his ear, stuck on repeat as he stepped back onto the sidewalk, still staring blindly through the glass door of Kris’ shop.

Kris didn’t want him around.

Kris had called him an idiot.

His hands clenched into fists on either side of him in an inexplicable fury, and he stomped towards the door, throwing it open to find Kris hunched over, as though inspecting one of the items in the store with his back towards Yixing. “Yeah, I’m an idiot. Whose fault it that? You _knew_ how I felt about you and you still led me on, with your stupid _friend_ crap. You’re the one who’s the idiot, making me fall-!”

Yixing’s tirade was cut short when he noticed that Kris had fallen to knees, one hand on the ground to support himself, and back heaving quickly in short breaths.

“Kris?” Yixing rushed to Kris’ side as he started to fall towards the ground. His eyes were closed and a terrifying amount of blood was flowing from the corner of his mouth. “Kris!”

_Why didn’t you listen to me and let me take you to the hospital?!_

“Kris!” Yixing shook the body in his arms in a panic. Why was this happening again? Except this time, it was so much worse because Yixing was here to witness it.

“Kris!”

“KRIS, WAKE UP, DAMMIT!”

But his eyes remained closed as Yixing yelled himself hoarse and salty tears rolled down his face.

“Are you quite done?” A calm voice asked overhead.

Yixing looked up to see Tao standing over him with an empty expression. He sprang to his feet and grabbed Tao by the collar, “Do something! _Anything!_ ”

Tao continued to stare at Yixing blankly, and Yixing noticed that Tao’s eyes were red like his own.

“Let me go back. You said I’d get three shots at changing the last 24 hours and you only sent me back an hour this time, which means I’ve still got 23 hours left. _Let me go back_.”

“And what, watch Kris die 23 more times?” Yixing didn’t say anything as he continued to cling onto Tao’s shirt pleadingly. Tao glared down at Yixing, the first sign of emotion since he appeared in the store unannounced, and pushed Yixing off of him. “Maybe you could do that, but I can’t. I _won’t_.”

Yixing looked up at Tao again, and for the first time since the dark-haired male had introduced him in his home, he wondered who exactly Tao was.

“My full name is Huang Zitao,” Tao said through his teeth, as though reading Yixing’s thoughts. “I’m not a genie, and I definitely can’t bring Kris back from the dead.”

“I-I don’t understand…”

Tao raised his arm and Yixing had a fleeting fear that he was going to get hit, “Here, take my hand. It’ll be easier to explain this way.”

No sooner had Yixing’s fingers grazed Tao’s, his head felt like a helium balloon and he was suddenly sitting in what could only be a police station.

“Huang Zitao?” A kind-looking police woman called, clipboard in hand as she addressed Yixing. Before he could object, he felt himself get up, quite involuntarily, and when he walked past a glass window, the reflection showed a slightly younger version of Tao looking back at him.

_“My full name is Huang Zitao. I’m not a genie, and I definitely can’t bring Kris back from the dead.”_

His internal struggle to figure what was going on was interrupted as his eyes fell onto a young man who was supporting someone who had their arm around him.

 _Kris?_ He wondered to himself, only the familiar tall male seemed to be wearing a pair of leathery wings upon his back. _Is it Halloween?_ Kris locked eyes with him for a couple of seconds before shifting back to the person he was supporting.

Yixing’s vision swept back in front of him, where the same police woman was now asking him questions about a fight he’d supposedly gotten into.

_“Here, take my hand. It’ll be easier to explain this way.”_

The scene before Yixing changed again and he found himself on a bench, tossing stones into the pond in front of him.

“Hi.”

Yixing looked up and found Kris staring down at him with a friendly smile, lowering his hand when Yixing didn’t offer to shake it in return. “Who are you?” He asked in a voice that wasn’t his, but sounded vaguely like Tao’s.

Kris turned to sit down next to him and Yixing found his eyes trained onto the pair of almost-black wings he’d seen earlier, at the police station. “Kris,” he answered simply. “I’m different, as you already know. Like you.”

Yixing felt his jaw clench, “What are you talking about?”

“You can play with time, can’t you? And you’re a Seer, too.” He paused, and when he got no response, continued, “I can fly.” His left wing fluttered, as if to emphasize his point.

“Who _are_ you?” Tao’s voice asked again and Yixing felt his body tense defensively.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m just a friend.”

*

Yixing found himself in the familiar space of Kris’ shop, jabbing his finger lightly at a set of crystal champagne flutes.

“Careful, Zitao. You have to pay for that if you break ‘em. And they are _not_ cheap.” Yixing turned around to find Kris emerging from the back room, a stack of papers in his hand and another one of his poorly written nametags on his sweater. The same sweater he’d been wearing the night Yixing had used his shop to get out of the rain. “What’s wrong, Zitao?”

Yixing felt his shoulders rise and fall in a shrug, “Nothing.”

“You’ve been moody. Or moodier than usual. What happened?”

Another shrug.

“You’ve Seen something, haven’t you?”

More silence.

“It’s me, isn’t it?”

“No.”

“Huang Zitao. I’ve known you since you were sixteen, and you’ve never been able to keep anything away from me.”

Yixing could feel tears threatening to fall from his eyes. He reached out to the nearest flute and picked it up, throwing it across the room towards the back corner in frustration. “It’s not _fair_ , Kris! Why does it have to be you?”

Kris didn’t seem bothered, “ _Everyone_ dies eventually, Zitao,” he said with a soft sigh.

“But this is too soon!” Another glass broke into a hundred pieces next to the first and Yixing felt hotness rolling down his cheeks.

“Stop it, Zitao,” Kris commanded sternly, though not angrily. “You can’t change anything by throwing a fit.”

Yixing narrowed his eyes at Kris, “Why are you so calm?” He practically yelled, throwing another crystal glass, “Why do always have to act so cool, even when faced with news that you’re going to die soon?!” Yixing swallowed and Tao's voice shrunk to a whisper, “I’ve always hated that part about you.”

Kris put down the stack of papers he’d been holding and stepped towards him, wrapping his arms around his shuddering body, as the boy continued to cry. Kris kept his warmth around the younger until the sobs calmed. “Come on, let’s go get you cleaned up,” he said in his forever calming voice and guided him into the back and to the bathroom.

“You know, I was only three days old when my mom made that deal.”

Yixing let out a hiccup as Kris wiped his face with a square of coarse toilet paper.

“Three days. That’s all I would have had if my mom hadn’t traded her life for mine.” Kris paused to grab a couple more squares of tissue, “Can you do me a favour, Zitao?” Yixing looked up helplessly. “No, I know you can’t save me, but I want to give back those three days. To someone completely random.”

Yixing glared at Kris. “Why can’t you ever stop thinking about others? _Especially_ strangers?”

Kris laughed, “Can you do that for me? When I pick out the person?” A muffled ringing of a bell sounded from the front of the store. “Give them the chance to redo three days in their life?”

Yixing looked down, “You have a customer.”

“Can you do it for me?” Kris repeated, ignoring the previous comment as he placed a finger under Yixing's chin to bring his face up to face Kris.

Yixing felt himself nod and watched as a smile spread wide on Kris’ features. “Thanks,” he said, before opening the back door. His muted voice could be heard through the wall, “Can I help you with anything?”

A few minutes later, Kris reappeared looking excited. “Him. The guy that just walked out. He didn’t say what his name was, but he looked like hell and like he could do with a bit of good. I gave him that genie lamp that I could never sell off these past couple of years. Perfect set-up, don’t you think? We just have to make sure he’s still got the lamp even after he decides to redo the day…”

*

“You’re not _seriously_ considering going to dinner with him, are you?”

“Why not? He’s a decent guy.”

“Because it’s a terrible idea!”

“How’s that now?”

“You don’t even know him!”

“Dinner is a chance as good as any to get to know someone.”

“He’s an asshole! A terrible person! Stupid! An idiot! Doesn’t know what he’s doing with his life!”

“Do _you_ know what you’re doing with your life? Does _anyone?_ ”

“He thinks you’re _cute_. He’s obviously into you.”

“What makes you think I’m not into him?”

“Cute. That’s what he called you. _Cute._ ”

“Maybe I think he’s cute too.”

“Okay, well how about this, then? You’re going to die in a couple months, and don’t you think it’s a little mean to give the guy hope when you know you won’t last the year?”

Kris bristled and paused a moment before walking out the door.

*

“Fuck, I messed up, Zitao.” Kris collapsed into a couch with his head in his hands in a home Yixing didn’t recognize. “I messed up real bad.”

Yixing felt his eyes narrow in accusation, “What did you do?”

“I kissed him. Well, he kissed me. But I kissed him back. Fuck, Zitao, what do I do? I’m so disgusted at myself right now. How could I have let myself give in? I tried, _so hard_ not to end up here. How did this happen? _Fuck, Zitao, what do I do?!_ ”

*

“He redid today. He fucking redid today. _Why didn’t you warn me?_ ” Kris looked like he had been on the receiving end of a fight, without all the cuts and bruises, but with the same harried look. “He regretted it. _Why did he do it if he was going to regret it?!_ ” Kris started pacing the room, “No, of course. This should be easier, right? I shouldn’t’ve kissed him back and now that he’s chosen himself to undo it, I should just act like nothing is wrong, right?”

Yixing ground his teeth together and turned towards the door, “I’m leaving.”

Kris didn’t seem to hear him, having fallen into his seat again with a defeated look. “ _He regretted it._ ”

“You deserve it,” Yixing heard Tao say bitterly under his breath when he was no longer within earshot of Kris.

*

Kris was lying across his couch, his arm behind his head and leaning against the arm rest. “I lied, Zitao. I don’t think I’m quite ready to die tonight.”

Yixing’s vision stayed fixed on the white ceiling above where he lay on the carpeted floor.

“D’you think I’ll see my mom again? Think I’d even recognize her, even though I’ve only known her three days of my life? D’you think he’ll miss me when I’m gone? I think I’ll miss him.”

“ _I’ll_ miss you.”

Kris laughed quietly, “I’ll miss you too, Zitao.” He paused, taking a deep uneven breath as if trying not to cry, “Promise me you won’t tell Yixing, okay?”

…

Yixing fell to knees again, next to Kris’ lifeless body with an ugly feeling in his heart. “He told you not to tell me! _Why did you tell me_?! I don’t want to know this!”

“Because I’m mean and selfish, okay?” Tao shouted just as loudly back at Yixing, sinking to the ground as well, several feet from where Yixing was. “The fucking jerk doesn’t get what he wants for once.” He looked past Yixing at Kris’ unmoving body, “You fucking hear me, you jackass? Look where your good deeds have landed you! You don’t get to order me around anymore!”

Yixing was shaking, and wrapping his arms around himself seemed like the only thing he could do to hold himself together. He wanted to join Tao in yelling his frustrations at Kris. How dare he decide randomly to give Yixing his stupid “gift”? What right did he have to fuck around with his life and not tell him about it? Why didn’t he just tell Yixing who he was? Why didn’t he trust him enough to tell him the truth? _Why did he have to leave him all alone_?

“Tao,” Yixing whispered when he managed to find his voice again, “Take me back.”

“Fuck you, Zhang Yixing.”

“Please. Just one last time.” Yixing didn’t care that he sounded like a desperate child.

Tao shot him a scathing look. “You can’t change his fate.”

“Just an hour,” Yixing begged. “Please, you still owe me 23 hours, and I just want one.”

Tao narrowed his eyes, “I don’t give a shit about that. I don’t owe you anything.”

“Fine, then just take pity on me. Just let me say goodbye to him properly. _Please_.”

Tao hesitated. “He won’t remember this,” he said in a barely audible voice, pointing at Kris’ still figure on the ground, “Or the last time it happened. Not when he’s died already.”

Yixing nodded feebly.

“One hour. That’s all you get, Zhang Yixing.”

…

“Have you ever been in love?” Kris asked, in between bites of his vegetarian spring roll.

Yixing swallowed and nearly choked on his rice again. He stared at Kris, the still living, breathing Kris, who was making swirling patterns in his plate of fried rice with the half eaten spring roll, avoiding Yixing’s gaze. Yixing took a deep breath before answering confidently. “Yes.”

Kris looked up, startled as if he hadn’t expected Yixing to actually give him an answer.

“With you,” Yixing finished, before dropping his chopsticks and sliding around the glass display that had separated them. The he was kissing Kris with everything he had. It was better than the one from the amusement park, Yixing having already gotten familiar with the contours of Kris’ mouth, and for a second, he let himself imagine this moment lasting forever, with his hands around Kris’ neck, pulling him closer as he reached into Kris’ hair. Yixing needed to let him know, with every fibre of his being, just how much Kris meant to him. And when Kris tried to pull away, Yixing pulled him closer.

“I love you, Kris” Yixing murmured against Kris’ lips when he finally let go to catch his breath.

“Yixing… I can’t…” Kris managed before Yixing pressed his lips firmly on top of Kris’ again, cutting him off.

“I know,” Yixing said in a low voice as he started to back away, leaving Kris with a muddled expression, “I just… I just needed you to know how I feel, okay?” He suddenly realised that he was crying, and turned around hastily to hide his emotions, using both hands to wipe at his face. “I’m sorry, I should go,” he said hurriedly, grabbing his jacket and jogging to the door. He stopped a step away from it and turned around to face the owner of the shop a last time. “Good bye, Kris.”

…

Tao had shown up the night Kris had been the unfortunate victim of an armed robbery. “I can’t stay at home. All it does is remind me of Kris. Can I stay here?” He’d asked in a ragged voice, knuckles white and fingers clenched tightly around the bottom of his shirt.

It didn’t matter that Huang Zitao had unreasonably blamed Yixing for Kris’ death, nor that Yixing had been angry with _him_ for having told him about the hard truth. They were just two people that night. Two people who couldn’t be alone.

…

A week later, the doorbell rang, and Yixing, now having taken to wearing the winged pendant around his neck daily, found a kindly face atop a black suit standing in front of him. “Can I help you?”

“Are you Zhang Yixing?”

“Who’s asking?”

The wide-eyed man held out his hand, “My name is Do Kyungsoo. I was Kris Wu’s lawyer.”

“Oh, uhm, sure. Come in, I guess. Did you want anything to drink?” Yixing offered.

“Water is fine, thanks,” the lawyer said, making himself at home at Yixing’s kitchen table. Yixing carried the glass back and busied himself with clearing the table of old letters, fliers, newspapers and the golden lamp he hadn't bothered to move in the last months.

“How can I help you?”

Do Kyungsoo reached into his briefcase, pulling out a white standard sized envelope and a stapled stack of paper. “This,” he slid the white envelope towards Yixing, who noted that his name was scribbled across the center in Kris’ signature terrible writing, “Is for you. We found it among a bunch of pledges at his store. I just need you to sign a couple pages.”

Yixing waited for the lawyer to leave before looking for a letter opener. He could have just as easily just used his fingers to rip it open, but somehow, Yixing didn’t want to reveal the contents quickly. He was afraid of what he’d find.

 

_Yixing,_

_I take it from way you acted tonight that Zitao has told you everything, and that you were here as a repeat. If you are with him, please tell him I’m not mad. If anything, I’m thankful because at least now, I can tell you how I feel too._

_I love you, Zhang Yixing._


End file.
